


Flowers

by Kangoo



Series: LGBT Destiny Month 2019 [21]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: (but bad), (more than usual), LGBT Destiny Month, Love/Hate, Magical Elements, Other, flower symbolism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 04:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19311046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kangoo/pseuds/Kangoo
Summary: shin malphur sprouts flowers wherever he goes





	Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Plants sprout best in places well-lit and warmed by sunlight, far away from the trampling feet of conquering civilizations. They thrive where humanity fears to go, when they are free to take over its ruins. It's a phenomenon well documented in nuclear wastelands. Whole irradiated areas slowly finding life again in the plant life that goes where humans cannot, or will not.

Occam thinks about the lush woods of the area surrounding Chernobyl, centuries ago. Thinks about the Manhattan Nuclear Zone. They think about nuclear shadows, too, the imprints of people gone in a burst of radioactive fire. About the power it takes to leave that kind of mark on the world.

Mostly they wonder what kind of man Shin Malphur is as they stare at the shadow left from Callum Sol. There are a handful of flowers growing through the cracks in the ground, reaching toward the ashy imprints of a man. The yellow petals are strikingly bright in the monochrome of the Ascendant Plane.

「Common bird's-foot trefoil,」 Vitale notes, hovering over the flowers. 「Definitely doesn't grow on the Reef, let alone in the Ascendant Plane.」

Earth flowers, born from Solar energy and still clinging to life in the lifeless expanse of the Plane. Occam picks one on their way out.

For luck.

 

Shin Malphur hands them his gun.

It's heavier than they expected. Substantial. A real weapon, rather than pure Light given form. How can a regular weapon wreak the kind of destruction necessary to burn a man into a shadow?

Maybe it's more of a Malphur thing. Maybe he's just that powerful a Guardian.

(Occam bumps him a dozen places up their mental charts of _People Likely To Kill Me_.)

But then again there is something about this gun too. It's warm in Occam's palm, the way alive things are warm. They don't like the way it requires them to get close to danger to shoot, but it's got a hell of a kick, cutting through enemies like they're made of wet cardboard paper.

They try to give it back, afterward. It was a loan, and Shin Malphur will make way better use of it. But he shakes his head slightly, wraps his hands around Occam's, pushes the gun back.

"Keep it," he says. "I know you'll make good use of it."

Occam isn't quite so sure about it. They watch Malphur go, uneasiness churning in their stomach. There are leaves poking through their fingers.

(It's lily of the valley. They put it in a glass of water, and it refuses to die.)

 

Occam walks the razor's edge of darkness, never truly dipping their toes in it nor moving away, back toward the light. It is an alluring prospect, all this power at the tip of your fingers. A surefire protection from everything that could hurt you. It's hard to say no to.

Harder still to say _yes_ when they know exactly what happens when one goes against Shin Malphur. The dried flower tucked in their pocket serves as a constant reminder. Every so often they will find their fingers reach for it unconsciously. They're never sure if it's in reassurance or fear.

Occam is afraid of a lot of things. It's an ever-updating list in their mind. _Who's most likely to kill me at the moment_. Ghaul sat at the top until his death, when he was replaced by Riven. The Darkness is second only because it's not as immediate a threat. The Nine are third, and then everything else: The Traveler — can, but won't —, the Vanguards, whoever they've pissed off lately. Shin Malphur refuses to settle on a place, hovering on the sideline. Threat or ally? Occan feels the balance shift whenever they tilt the slightest bit toward darkness.

But as long as they fly under the radar, keeps the dark to a minimum, doesn't go full on Shadow of Yor… Shin Malphur shouldn't look at them too closely.

They become a Dredgen. There are shadows in Drifter's eyes when he congratulates them.

That night, there's someone in Occam's apartment.

「 _We have a visitor_ ,」 Vitale warns them inside their mind as they're unlocking the door.

They falter, half a second. Draw their sidearm and pushes the door handle.

Shin Malphur has them pinned by their throat before they can take more than a step inside.

All the lights are out but his eyes burn Solar-bright in the dark, strained on Occam with fury. His hand tightens around their trachea, a reflex only just reined in. Their sidearm slips through their fingers and clatter to the ground.

Shin Malphur jumps at the top of the List — one last update before their stupid death.

Their mouth opens and closes like a gaping fish. Already their vision is going fuzzy at the edge, though they can't tell if it's from the lack of air or the tears welling up in their eyes. They kick their feet, try to shove Malphur away, but it's useless. They're going to die here.

Or not. Malphur lets go suddenly. They drop like a stone, crumbling on the ground in a quivering, gasping ball. He watches them without any pity as they try to work some air through their abused throat. Panic shoots through Occam as he leans in and they try to crawl away, eyes widening when they realize they're already backed against a wall.

He doesn't go for the kill, only for their belt. The Last Word is ripped from their back holster. Shin Malphur digs the barrel under their chin, tilt their head back with it. His lips are twisted in a snarl, barely visible as their eyes adjust to the low light.

"I _trusted_ you with it," he hisses.

Occam gets the feeling this meant far more than simply giving them a weapon. It was a symbol, that they already knew, but they underestimated the emotional attachment he had for his gun.

"You shouldn't have," they rasp out, attempting to be flippant and only coming out painfully honest.

He stalks out without another word. Occam quietly has a panic attack.

They come back to themself with a burning chest, a bruised throat and cheeks stinging from tears. They get up. Go wash their face with cold water and try to forget the feeling of five fingers like branding irons against their jugular.

They stare at their reflection for a moment. The melting eyeliner that covers their dark bags, the bruises forming a painful collar around their throat. There's a handful of flowers caught in the collar of their shirt, they notice, the same sickly red and purple as the bruises.

Lavender, thistle, a single red dahlia.

Occam puts them in water, right next to the wilted lily of the valley.

 

They keep meeting. In passing, almost by accident.

A dead body, stinging nettle sprouting from the bullet hole in its chest.

The terrible noise of the Golden Gun, a wave of heat, and no trace of a fight left afterward save for a few scorch marks against a wall and a handful of black rose petals scattering in the wind.

An anonymous body in a shitty bar of the City.

Occam isn't sure when they realize this isn't just any stranger looking for a one night stand. Doesn't know when Shin figures it out. Some point after they undressed, anyway — they're both drunk, hands nimble fingers now fumbling with zippers and buckles.

They definitely both figured it out by the time an orange lily curls around their hands as Solar energy seeps through Shin's fingers. Some Guardians are loud; most are bright.

By that point it's a little too late to regret it, though. Occam leans closer, lips against his throat, bites hard enough to draw blood and a choked-out moan.

(They wake up bruised, satisfied knowing Shin isn't much better off.

There's a small bouquet in the empty spot next to them in the bed. Daffodil, orange rose, purple carnation. They take a deep breath of the sweet perfume and take relief in the knowledge that this is one threat they probably won't have to worry about much in the future.)

**Author's Note:**

> all flower symbolism taken from wikipedia:  
> Bird's-foot trefoil – Revenge  
> lily of the valley - humility, returning happiness, Trust  
> Thistle – warning  
> lavender – distrust  
> red dahlia – betrayal and dishonesty  
> stinging nettle – life and death  
> black rose - Death, hatred, farewell  
> orange lily - Desire, passion, hatred (negative)  
> daffodil - return my affection; new beginnings  
> purple carnation - unreliability  
> orange rose – desire, passion


End file.
